Rubio takes hard line on immigration

Freshman Sen. Marco Rubio is often billed as the answer to the Republicans’ Hispanic problem.

On his party’s shortlist of vice presidential candidates, he is a darling of the tea party, represents the largest swing state — and as the son of Cuban immigrants, could make history as the first Hispanic-American on a national ticket.

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But since stepping onto the national stage last year, Rubio has taken a hard right turn on immigration that could drive away the very Hispanic voters Republicans need to win the White House in 2012.

Hispanic and immigration activists had held out hope that with the election behind him, Rubio might return to some of the more moderate positions he staked out as a state lawmaker. Instead, they’re now seething after Rubio hardened his opposition to the DREAM Act and continues to repeat the harsh rhetoric of the right wing, dismissing anything other than border and workplace enforcement as “amnesty” for illegal immigrants.

The backlash has intensified in recent days after Rubio reiterated his positions on immigration in a national Spanish-language interview, leading some Hispanic leaders to accuse him of placing his political ambitions above the needs of his community.

“There’s a Benedict Arnold feeling,” said Jorge Mursuli, a Cuban immigrant and executive director of Miami-based Democracia, a Hispanic civic engagement group. “Having known him, his political career and knowing where he comes from — a hardworking immigrant family — one has to wonder what it is that he’s thinking or how his political ambitions outweigh his life experiences. ... It’s not only disappointing; it’s disheartening and, frankly, almost unbelievable.”

Putting the Miami native on the Republican ticket could help the party win electoral-rich Florida and make it competitive in Hispanic-heavy swing states like Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado. But Democrats and their allies warn they’ll be quick to pounce on Rubio’s immigration record — a strategy they believe will undercut his ability to attract Hispanics.

A Latino Decisions poll conducted on the eve of last November’s election found that while 78 percent of Cuban-Americans said they would vote for Rubio, just 40 percent of non-Cuban Latinos said they supported him.

“To be against comprehensive immigration reform and a path to citizenship and against the DREAM Act defines you in the Latino immigrant community as a hard-liner and an enemy of the community,” said Frank Sharry, founder and executive director of America’s Voice, a pro-immigration advocacy group.